


Freak Boy

by DisposableVillain



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Christmas, Christmas Party, F/M, Gay, Gay Male Character, High School, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, Love, M/M, Prom, School Dances, Self-Acceptance, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transgender, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2019-11-03 23:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17886971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisposableVillain/pseuds/DisposableVillain
Summary: Boys don't cry. Boys don't play with dolls. Boys don't wear dresses. Boys don't wish to be girls. But that's the thing.Kek isn't a boy.





	Freak Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Elliot. This is an old fic I'm posting in 2019 but with the original date I wrote it. Hope you enjoy. I just wanted to do a more cheerful Christmas story. In this, Yami Marik is a trans woman. I just want to say now; girls don't need to be feminine to be girls, and that goes for trans girls too. This is also not what every trans person experiences. Everyone has a different experience in terms of coming out, realising that they're trans, and pretty much everything. So one, I don't want any reviews saying that Yami Marik isn't feminine enough to be trans, and two, I don't want anyone to feel invalidated by this because it's not what they experienced. Okay, I think that covers everything.

**CW: Transphobia, slurs**

* * *

"Kek," Marik whined. Kek ignored him, turning a page in his book. "Kek." Kek stretched an arm behind his head, using it as a second pillow. "Kek!"

Kek sighed and turned his head to look at his older brother. "What do you want?"

Marik gave him a toothy grin and held up two dolls. One had long, black hair with red streaks, pale skin, and green eyes. The other donned short brown hair, brown skin, and violet eyes. "Play with me. You promised yesterday."

Kek turned back to his book. "No I didn't."

"Yes you did," Marik insisted. "I asked you to play with me, but you were reading _Rapunzel_ , and told me you'd play with me today if I left you alone."

Shoot. That did sound familiar. Kek folded down a corner of the page he was on and slid his book under his pillow. It wasn't like he didn't know the ending anyway.

The princess kissed the frog, he became a prince, and they all lived happily ever after, the end.

He just wanted to read. He liked reading. He was good at it, and it wasn't something their father made him do like sports. He just liked it.

"Fine." Kek sat up on his bed. "What are we playing?" Marik held up the dolls again. "Yes, dolls, I get it. I meant what story?"

"Oh." Marik grinned. "Detectives. Mehi and Amisi can be the detectives." The pale and dark skinned dolls respectively. "Anen can be kidnapped and they go looking for him." He put Mehi on the ground and picked up a pale, blonde, blue-eyed boy to show Kek. "This is Anen."

Kek tilted his head. "Shouldn't he be the detective?"

"No. He's not strong enough." Marik shrugged.

"But the girls are?"

Marik nodded. "Mehi's really strong, and Amisi's really smart, so they're a good team."

"But they're both girls." Kek wrinkled his nose. "Dad says-"

"Yeah, but you've seen the pictures in school." Marik shrugged. "Girls are just as good as boys."

"I guess." Kek still seemed uncertain.

"They are," Marik decided, settling onto his knees.

Kek didn't know how he managed to sit like that. "So who kidnaps Anen?"

Marik held up his final doll – a pale, tall, red-haired girl. "Sanaa. She's a corrupt detective and is always throwing Amisi and Mehi off the case."

Kek frowned. "Can detectives do that?"

"Mhm." Marik nodded. "They're not meant to but they do."

"Oh." Kek's brows were furrowed. "This is complicated."

"Not really." Marik shrugged. Kek didn't understand it. People said his brother was too feminine to be strong or smart. He wasn't as strong as Kek, but he could lift the shopping most days. And he was definitely smarter than most six year olds. "Come on. Which doll do you want to be?" He held out Mehi and Amisi. "I'll be Sanaa and you can be Anen, but which of these?"

Kek frowned. "But they're both girls."

"So?" Marik shrugged. "It's a game."

"But I'm not a girl." Something felt off.

"You don't need to be. It's just acting." Marik lowered the dolls. "I act out stories I want to make or take part in. Sometimes I need to be the girl because there's only one boy. That doesn't mean I'm a girl. It's just a game." Kek hesitated as Marik held up the dolls again. "Just pick one." Slowly, he reached out and took Mehi. Marik grinned at him. "Great. I'll be Amisi then."

The game started nicely. Kek had Anen put up a good fight against Sanaa – "He gets kidnapped, but he's not a wimp!" – and when he was kidnapped, he dropped his phone for Mehi and Amisi to find. Though they had debated over the phone, Marik had explained that it wouldn't have been any use keeping it because Sanaa would have taken it off him.

The more they had the two girls search the room for their missing friend – tied up by toilet paper in their closet – the more Kek found himself enjoying playing more than he meant to.

Then it got to the bit where they found out Sanaa was evil. Kek had Mehi slap her. Marik had started arguing that he couldn't do that because Sanaa had a gun. So they went back, and Kek had Mehi take out her own gun and kill Sanaa.

"You said she was strong!" He insisted when Marik protested again. He forgot to keep his voice down and it wafted down the hall – they had to keep their door open. Every day, every night, every second. "If she's so strong, she should be able to just shoot the baddie!"

"It doesn't work that way! Sanaa's the only one who knows where Anen is!" Marik snapped.

Kek rolled his eyes. "So? They're going to find him eventually. They're the good guys. Good guys win. So Mehi shoots Sanaa."

"Good guys find a way to win without shooting people. Bad guys shoot people. The middle people who may or may not win shoot to hurt. If you kill her, Mehi's bad too, and if you just hurt her, they mightn't win!" Marik folded his arms. "That's how it works."

"In who's world?"

"Mine!"

"Fine then!" Kek threw Mehi at Marik. "I'm not playing this stupid game anymore. I never wanted to play in the first place!"

"Excellent." They both jumped and looked up to see Altair Ishtar standing in the doorway. He was only looking at Kek. "It's good to see I have one real son." His gaze flickered to Marik and soured. "Put those things away. You're bothering your brother."

"But-"

"No buts. You're lucky I let you keep them at all." Altair left the room.

Marik slowly picked up the dolls and carried them to the closet. He placed them inside, sitting down, and untied Anen before placing him with them.

Kek was silent as he watched. Something was gnawing at him, a lump forming in his throat. It had started when their father had said he only had one real son. He didn't like it.

It wasn't fair.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"It's my fault."

"Don't."

"I-"

"Don't," Marik repeated. He closed the closet and made his way to his own bed. Kek watched him lie down. After a minute, Marik turned to look at Kek. "You didn't mean it, right?" He mumbled. "My game wasn't stupid, right?"

Kek shook his head. "It was fun," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

Marik shook his head and turned to face the wall again. "Don't."

* * *

Kek fiddled with the strap on his bag. This was it. He was going to do it. He dropped his bag into one of the bag areas by his locker.

He was going to do it. He unlocked the locker and shoved the books inside. A mirror was glued to the door by whoever owned the locker before him.

He caught a glimpse and his face withered. Strong jaw, straight nose, a bit of stubble though he only shaved yesterday. He slammed the door shut. A nearby freshman jumped and scurried away.

He was going to do it. He had to be out to even start anything because of safety issues. Nothing was going to get better until he did it.

So why was he still hesitating? He had been putting it off for over a week.

 _"Try it,"_ his therapist had said. _"You have two weeks until you see me again. Just try coming out to someone. Even just one friend."_

He still had a week. But he had to get it done. He made his way to their usual lunch area – a small grassy patch just outside the school. A tree shaded the few that were there. Snow hadn't hit Domino, but it wasn't far off and not many people were venturing outside for lunch anymore.

Just Kek's friends, the dorks that they were. Kek took a shaky breath as he neared them. "Hey."

Bakura waved a hand as Kek sat by Ryou. His mouth was full of some sort of meat – it was pretty much indistinguishable. Marik cringed as Bakura took another bite and shifted away from him.

Ryou rolled his eyes and gave Kek a smile. "Hey."

Kek returned the smile feebly. "Where's Akefia and Seto?"

"Akefia's out sick with a cold," Bakura mumbled once he swallowed, "and Seto's probably working again."

"It's Christmas. Give him a break," Ryou sighed. "You know stock sales shoot up."

Bakura shrugged. "Don't care. Still gonna break in and make him eat something nutritious."

"Oh the horror." Marik rolled his eyes. He glanced at Kek and raised an eyebrow.

Kek hesitated before nodding. Marik knew. He never said anything at school, but they talked about it a lot at home. It was going okay, but still.

"Can I-" Kek's voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "Can I talk to you guys about something?"

"Oh gods," Bakura groaned, "are we doing a feeling circle?" He cleared his throat and put on a warbly voice. "Yes, my name's Anzu, and I have a problem with not getting enough boys and it's really hard."

"Anzu's gay, dumbass." Marik smacked his arm.

"Whatever." Bakura shrugged. "Still not doing a feeling circle like a bunch of melodramatic girls."

Why was it a bad thing? Why was being a girl such a bad thing?

"Bakura, knock it off."

Would Bakura care? No, no of course not. Kek had known him for years. That asshole was one of his best friends. One of his only friends.

"I'm just saying!"

But what if he did?

"Well stop 'just saying'."

He couldn't do this. Too soon. Way too soon. Any time was too soon. It was never happening.

"Forget it." Kek stood up. His footsteps were quick and uneven as he made his way back into the school.

He vaguely heard someone call after him, but he didn't focus on who. Probably Marik or Ryou. Bakura wouldn't care. None of them should care. He was a freak. They shouldn't care. Freak. Freak boy, freak boy.

He barely focused as he half-ran up the two flights of stairs, walked to the end of a corridor, and climbed the final set of stairs to the roof. The door was open – as usual. Or maybe Kek broke the lock.

Probably the latter. He didn't quite remember, but his foot was sore and he was missing a few pins from his pocket.

All he knew was his face was buried in his hands, legs drawn up to his chest. He was shaking.

"Kek," someone murmured, and a hand ghosted over his shoulder. He flinched. "Kek, it's okay. It's me. Ryou. Are you having an attack?"

Kek shrugged. He didn't know. He was breathing okay though. Probably not. He shook his head. "I just-" His voice cracked. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Ryou gently took his hands and moved them away from his face. Kek looked up at him. Something wet was on his cheeks. "Kek..." Ryou cupped his face, wiping away the water tracks with his thumb. "What's wrong, love?"

Kek shook his head. "Nothing."

"What were you going to tell us?"

"Nothing," he repeated, "important. Nothing important."

Ryou crouched down next to him. "It seems like it's important to you," he murmured. "And if it's important to you, it's important."

Kek shook his head, refusing to look at Ryou. "It's so stupid."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is. You don't even know what it is. It's just so stupid." A drop formed at the edge of his eye and fell down his cheek. "So _stupid_."

"Do you want to tell me?" Ryou asked, his voice soft.

Kek nodded. A few more tears ran after the first. "I can't... I wa- I want to but- but I can't..."

"Why not?"

Kek sniffed. "You'll hate me. It's so stupid."

"Hey." Ryou squeezed his hands. "Look at me." Kek reluctantly raised his gaze. "I could never hate you. If you're not ready to tell me, I'm not going to force you to. But if you are ready, I'm here to listen."

Kek was shaking again. He gripped Ryou's hands tightly. He was going to do it. "I-" He was doing it. He could do it. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. "I don't- I just-" He took a deep breath. "Ryou, I... I'm not... I'm not a boy..." Ryou stayed silent. "I-I'm a- I'm a girl. I'm t-trans. I'm n-not Kek." Tears were spilling down his cheeks. "I-I'm a girl."

Slowly, Ryou cupped Kek's face again, and pressed a soft kiss to his partner's forehead. "Thank you," he murmured, "for trusting me with that. I know how hard that must have been for you."

Kek bit his tongue. "Y-You're not-"

"No." Ryou shook his head. "I could never hate you for something like that, love. You are who you are. And if that means that I have a girlfriend and am in a straight relationship, so be it. I love you. I don't love you because I saw you as a boy. I love you because I saw you as _you_. You're a girl. That means I love a girl. And nothing's changing that."

Kek's teeth burrowed into her lip and she leaned forward, her forehead resting against Ryou's. "It's so stupid."

"It's not," Ryou insisted. "It's important. And you being scared wasn't stupid either. Bakura's an asshole."

Kek snorted. "Yeah. Figured that out when I met him."

Ryou smiled softly and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Do you want to stay up here for the rest of lunch?" Kek hesitated. "We don't need to."

"No," she mumbled, "I think I need to. I don't know if I can tell him just yet." She sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I could barely tell you."

Ryou nodded. "That's fine." He shifted into a more comfortable position and held up Kek's lunch bag. "You left it under the tree when you ran."

Kek chuckled. "Of course." She took the bag from Ryou. "Thanks."

"No problem." Ryou smiled at her and took his apple out of his own bag. "What pronouns do you want me to use for you?"

"She and her," Kek mumbled. "I don't mind they and them, but I prefer she and her. It just... fits better."

Ryou nodded. "And do you know what name you want to be called?" Kek hesitated. "It's okay if you change it later. If you change it, I'll call you by the name you change it to."

"It won't be annoying?" Kek glanced at him.

Ryou shook his head. "Not at all. You'd do the same for me; the least you deserve in life is to be comfortable in your own body."

Kek hesitated. "Mehi. I like that name. But I'm also thinking about Amisi... But Mehi for now."

Ryou smiled. "They both suit you. But Mehi it is."

The bell rang, and Mehi jumped. "Shit. How long was I out of it for?"

Ryou sighed and put his apple back in his bag. "I was trying to get you to respond for about ten minutes."

"Shit." Mehi stood up. "Sorry about that." She offered her hand to Ryou, who took it. She gave him a sheepish smile as she pulled him up. "Thanks for putting up with... this."

Ryou shook his head and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "This isn't me putting up with this. You're an amazing person. I'm going to try my best to help you however I can, and I like helping you. The second helping you becomes putting up with you is when you end up getting a brain transplant with Bakura without telling me. And that's me putting up with him."

Mehi frowned. "I... Okay?"

Ryou bit his lip. "Sorry. That sounded better in my head."

Mehi rolled her eyes as they made their way to the door. "You stayed up late playing _World of Warcraft_ , didn't you?"

"I had to get to level fifty!" Ryou whined. "Bakura's only on forty nine."

Mehi's eyes lit up. "You got to fifty?"

"Almost. Another ten minutes and I'd have-"

The late bell rang, and the two abandoned their conversation, jumping down the last three steps and pelting towards their lockers.

* * *

She could do this. She could do this. Everyone was in today. Marik and Ryou already knew. Now she just had to get through Seto, Bakura, and Akefia. Atem and the nerd herd should probably be told, but she could tell them at another stage. They weren't there anyway.

"So?" Bakura asked as they sat down. "What did you want to talk about?"

Thursday. A half day. The dance was the next day – the Christmas dance. That marked the end of school for the year. They had all gone to Burger World - mainly to get food, partially to mess with Anzu (she still lived in fear that they'd tell the school).

"Kek?" Akefia snapped his fingers. "Earth to Kek?"

"Piss off." Marik elbowed her and Mehi sighed. "I just... needed to tell you something."

"So?" Bakura sipped his drink. "What is it? You gonna start crossdressing like your sister?"

"Bakura," Marik snapped, "can you just shut up for five seconds? And stop calling me that!"

"Come on, I was kidding." Bakura shrugged. "Kek's not like that anyway."

"Oh like what?"

"You know what I mean, dumbass."

Her throat was closing up. This was stupid. She was stupid. Why did she think this would be okay? She had to get out. Now. She couldn't afford a full blown attack here.

Ryou caught her hand and squeezed it before she could leave. She met his gaze, and he gave her a smile. "Relax," he mumbled. "Bakura's just moody because I beat him in _World of Warcraft_."

"Bullshit, you cheated," Bakura snapped.

Ryou leaned towards him. "Level fifty five. Read it and weep, bitch."

Bakura glared at him. "Oh yeah? Well I beat your Monster World campaign."

"Yes, that's twenty to you and... how many to me?" Ryou pondered, smirking. "Seventy?"

Seto hummed and pulled up the scores on his phone. "Seventy three to twenty one."

"I hate you both." Bakura folded his arms and scowled at his half-eaten burger.

Marik rolled his eyes. "You love them." He pushed a tomato out of the way in his salad. It was really the only vegan option Burger World offered, but they never took out the tomatoes for him. He glanced at Mehi. "Go ahead." She noticed he avoided saying her name. That helped. A little.

Bakura glanced up at her again after a nudge from Seto. He glanced at his partner before sighing. "I'm sorry I was rude." He grabbed some of Ryou's chips. "Still gonna steal your food."

Seto rolled his eyes and turned his phone off. "You're impossible."

He looked over at Mehi. Everyone was looking at her. Even Bakura. Her throat tightened again. "I..." Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "I just... needed to tell you guys something..."

"You said that already," Bakura drawled, eating the stolen chips.

Mehi swallowed. "I know, asshole. This is just a bit hard to say." Marik placed his hand on her forearm and gave it a squeeze. Ryou squeezed her other hand. She let out a slow breath. "I'm... I'm trans," she mumbled.

"What was that?" Bakura asked after a moment. "I didn't-"

"I'm trans," she said, a bit louder. "I'm a girl."

Seto tilted his head as Bakura frowned. "Seriously? But you never wear girls' clothes or anything. You're literally one of the least effeminate people I know."

Mehi noticed how he said 'people' rather than 'guys'. "Yeah, so? Not all girls are effeminate, and that includes trans girls." She shrugged. Her head was swimming. She had been gearing herself up for this for so long - argued with people online, read other stories - that it didn't feel real. She didn't even know how she was still talking. "If Anzu was a tomboy-" Bakura snorted. "I said if. If she was a tomboy, would she be any less of a girl? No." It was just coming out. Ryou gave her hand another squeeze.

Bakura hummed. "Yeah, good point. Sorry."

Mehi blinked.

"So you want us to use female pronouns?"

That was it? "I..." She swallowed. She fucking loved these guys. She hated them. But not really. "Yeah. If you don't mind."

Bakura smirked. "You've never cared if we minded before when we had to do something. Don't start now."

Was this really happening? Bakura wasn't making fun of her? Seto wasn't pointing out how unlikely it was that she was trans? She didn't really expect them to do it, but... She just didn't know. Too much time thinking about every possibility had left her with the worst possible outcomes. "Right."

"What name are you using?" Akefia took a bite of his burger.

"Mehi." It sounded good.

Seto hummed. "If you want, I can sort it with the school." They all went to him for anything they needed sorted with the school. Her and Marik especially since their dad went on a business trip over a year ago.

"Yeah." Mehi nodded. "That'd... That'd be..." Her voice gave out.

"You okay?" Ryou murmured.

She took a breath and nodded. "Yeah, I just..." She chuckled and wiped the corner of her eye. There were no tears, but it was hot and itchy. "Thanks."

"Seriously, don't thank us?" Bakura shrugged. "We're your friends. We'll slag you over everything but fuck, this is who you are. We're not going to tell you who you are. It's your job to tell us who you are, and our job to go with that."

Mehi snorted. "Since when did you get sentimental?"

"That's not even- Do you even know what sentimental means?" Bakura groaned.

Akefia smirked. "This word. I don't think it means what you think it means."

"No, no, no!" Ryou shook his head. "You're not quoting that film! It was torture."

"Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling you something."

"Stop," Ryou groaned. "You're killing me."

"Coming out of my cage and I've been doing-"

"One more word - one more - and I'm making you a fucking ballerina princess in the next campaign," Ryou threatened.

"I'm fine with that. Ballerinas are light on their feet - good stealth points." Akefia smirked.

"A ballerina _merchant_."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

Mehi tried not to laugh. "He's got you."

Akefia huffed and sat back in his chair. "Bastard."

Ryou gave him a sweet smile as he stole a chip. Mehi's grin faded slightly. "But seriously. Thanks."

Seto gave her a rare grin. "You're welcome. But you're still paying for lunch."

"Bitch."

* * *

Mehi sighed as she kicked open the door. "Marik, can you _please_ help me with your shit?" She called.

"I'm in the kitchen."

"That's not what I asked!" She kicked the door closed behind her and shuffled into the kitchen. She dropped the box of groceries on the table. "Next time, you make the list, you come with me to carry the shit."

Marik's grin was a bit too big. "You're home early."

Mehi shrugged. "Yeah, less queues than expected." She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Nope!" Marik's grin stiffened. "Uh, you just... put away the things. I'll be back."

"Marik fucking Ishtar don't you-" He sprinted from the kitchen. Mehi chased after him. "I carried that shit three blocks, you can fucking unpack you little shit!" Marik slipped into their room and closed the door. Mehi hammered on it as he locked it. "I'm not unpacking!"

"Fine, just leave it!" Marik called back.

"You get out here and unpack it!"

"I'll be out soon!"

"Marik, let me in!"

"No, fuck off!"

Mehi scowled. "Fine, you know I have the key, right?" She fished the room key out of her jacket and slipped it into the lock. Just as she turned it, Marik yanked the door open, just blocking the room from view.

Mehi glared at him. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing." Marik grinned. "Just... chilling." Mehi's eyes narrowed and she pushed him to the side, looking into the room. "Mehi, wait-"

Too late.

Ryou smiled sheepishly at her. Akefia huffed. "Nice going, Marik; we told you to stall her."

Marik scowled. "Fine, you stall her next time."

Mehi could only stare. "Is that-?"

"For you," Ryou confirmed. Mehi hesitated before picking the garment off the bed. Ryou smiled. "Seto pulled strings at school. There's going to be no trouble if you show up to the dance in this."

Mehi hesitated and glanced at him. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Your name is already down on the role call as Mehi, and it can be changed. All teachers have been told about your name and pronoun change. And if there's any problems, we tell Seto, he complains, and that teacher goes down in flames." Ryou paused. "Well not literally. They should, but-"

Mehi dropped the garment on her bed and threw her arms around Ryou. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Ryou smiled, returning the hug. "You're welcome."

She glanced at Akefia and Marik.

"Nope. No, no." Akefia shook his head. "Don't-" She pulled him into a hug with Marik. "Asshole."

"Shut up and let me hug you, dickhead."

* * *

Mehi gripped the sides of the dress tightly, knuckles white. The grey lace clung to her hips and shoulders, a grey cotton underneath running from her chest down, leaving her shoulders bare though a little cotton decorated the neckline. The bottom folded in slices, hanging around her knees and ankles. Gold bangles clinked on her arms as she moved them, and a gold locket sat heavy on her chest.

She looked down. It looked like she was looking through someone else's eyes. Marik had gotten her a Nubra, breast forms, a push-up bra and everything ("An early Christmas present."). Ryou had even helped her straighten her hair and pull it into a partial braid - the top of her hair pulled back, but lower parts left loose around her shoulders.

In every way, she looked how she felt. Oh, except the jaw. And hands. And Sides. And legs. And nose. Wait, did she even pass a little? Probably not. This was a bad idea. "This is a bad idea." They'd make fun of her. "They'll make fun of me."

"Why?" Ryou asked, taking her hand and gently prying the dress free of it.

Mehi shuffled her feet. The combat boots were comfortable. Her usual style. They had gotten her heels, but fuck if she was wearing them. They looked like they could murder someone if the heel hit them.

"I look like a boy."

"No, you don't." He didn't say it didn't matter. It didn't. Fuck gender norms. But right then, it mattered. That was all that counted. "You look like Mehi."

"They're going to recognise me."

Ryou hummed. "Yeah. But nothing's going to happen. Okay?"

Mehi held her breath and nodded. Ryou pushed open the door and they walked inside. Slowly, Mehi released her breath. This wasn't so bad. The P.E. hall was dark, lasers and crappy disco lights illuminating it. One person seemed to have their hair dyed a glow-in-the-dark blue, but that was the brightest she could see.

Then it started. The whispers. Just one or two. Then heads turning. Ryou squeezed her hand. "Ignore them," he mumbled. "You're fine."

She nodded as they made their way towards the others.

Yugi was grinning, madly. But all he said was that she looked great. Anzu started to try and talk to her about make-up - Marik had done it for her. Some smokey-eye thing, purple lipstick, kohl, who knows what. Mehi didn't have a lot of time for it. She just didn't have an interest. Atem seemed surprised. Everyone did. But Atem and Jounouchi didn't talk to her. Otogi gave her an awkward grin and a, "Hey." Maybe she should've tried talking to them more.

Nah.

Halfway through, she heard it.

"Freak."

She ignored it and continued dancing with Ryou. She wasn't bad. He was great - his willowy body curved and arched in ways that she had pretty much deemed impossible. Yoga, he claimed. It did wonders. Maybe she should try it.

He noticed the change in her expression. "You okay?" He mouthed. She nodded, and they continued.

"Tranny."

She bit her lip.

"What even is he?"

"I don't know."

"That's Kek Ishtar, right?"

"Just like his brother."

"No, his brother doesn't go as far as wearing fake boobs."

"Tranny."

"Freak."

"Ladyboy."

She ran. Her throat was closing as she pushed through people and sprinted towards the door. She stumbled on the dress, but caught herself and kept going. She had to get out.

Freak. Tranny. Ladyboy. Why had she thought it would be okay?

Fuck! She was such a fucking idiot! The hallway was quieter, but it was still _too loud_. One of the jocks and his girlfriend sneered at her as she passed before returning to making out behind the bins. She pushed into the mens' bathroom. She wasn't risking the womens' toilets.

She leaned against the wall and sank to the floor.

Breathe. Breathe. Her pulse rang in her ears as her eyes grew hot. Breathe. Breathe. They ached, burning. But she couldn't cry. Big girls don't cry. Big girls don't cry. Real boys don't cry.

_"Real boys don't cry, Kek."_

She bit back a sob and wiped away a tear before it could fall.

The door opened. "Mehi?"

Mehi jumped and looked up as Ryou walked in. She sniffed and looked away. "S-sorry."

Ryou shook his head and sat next to her. "Don't be. Are you okay?"

She shrugged. Then shook her head. "I was stupid. I was stupid to think it wouldn't matter. To think it'd be okay to be like this."

Ryou took her hand. "It is okay to be like this."

"You heard them." Ryou didn't deny it. "It's not okay. And it's not going to be okay."

Ryou was silent for a moment. "Mehi, do you remember when Marik started wearing the girls' uniform?" Mehi glanced at him. "A few people made fun of him. Then interest died. This is Domino - it's a pretty liberal town. I know it's not the same situation but-"

"Yeah," Mehi sighed. "I get it." She leaned her head back, resting it against the cool tile. "I just... I just want to be seen how I see myself. Y'know? I just want to be me without other people butting in and telling me I can't be that person."

Ryou squeezed her hand. "You're still the same person you've always been. You're just not a boy."

Mehi snorted and wiped away another stray year. "I wish others saw it like that."

"They will," Ryou promised. "Some people just need a bit of time." Mehi hummed, and Ryou stood up. "Come on."

Mehi's eyes widened. "No. No way. I'm not going back in there. There were too many-"

"We got unlucky. We were by the jocks," Ryou murmured. "They've been asked to leave - most of them were hammered. Come on. If anyone says anything, we'll go."

Mehi hesitated as Ryou held out his hand. After a minute, she took it and allowed Ryou to pull her up.

The jock and the cheerleader were gone when they passed the bins. Bakura was waiting by the doors - unfashionably late, as always.

He grinned when he saw Mehi. "C'mere." He pulled her into a quick hug. "If anyone says anything, my foot will be so far up their ass, they'll be talking shit for months."

Mehi snorted as she pulled away. "Sure."

"They will be."

"Bakura, I'm stronger than you. You're a scrawny nerd. Those jocks could probably eat you."

"I'm gonna fight them."

"Bakura, no!"

"Gonna do it."

Mehi smacked his shoulder as they walked back into the hall. The panic dove on her again, but it wasn't as bad. Ryou led her straight back to the dance floor. Not the same spot, but similar. _Mr. Brightside_ was playing. Of course. They'd be groaning if they weren't trash.

Mehi occasionally stopped dancing, glancing around before continuing. As the song neared its end, Ryou wrapped his arms around her. "Mehi, it's okay." She met his gaze. "Look around. No one but me is looking at you."

She hesitated before obliging. As Ryou had said, everyone was occupied with whatever they were doing. No one was paying any attention to her, or her hair, or her dress. "No one's looking..."

"Exactly." Ryou smiled as she looked at him again.

The last song was announced. _Iris_. Mehi couldn't help but grin. "This is so fucking cheesy."

"Yeah, but you love it." Ryou's grin matched hers.

Mehi hummed skeptically, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Ryou's grin softened to a smile and he leaned up, wrapping his arms around her neck. Mehi blinked as he leaned in and kissed her. She chuckled against his lips and returned the kiss, one arm around his waist, one hand cupping his cheek.

"Thank you," she murmured as he pulled back. "This - all of this - wouldn't have been possible without you."

Ryou shook his head. "You would've found a way."

"Stop being so humble and let me thank you."

Ryou chuckled but nodded. "You're welcome." The song was ending.

"I love you." Mehi kissed him again. Shorter this time.

"I love you too." They kissed again as the song faded out and cheers erupted from the crowd. They pretended it was for them. Ryou met her gaze as he pulled back. "Merry Christmas, Mehi."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, please review!


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